Updated on 27/09/2021
Main Points of the chapter:
Ø This is a story of a poor man who sells
small rattraps (cage to catch rats) of wire.
Ø He wandered from place to place to sell these
rattraps.
Ø But he could not earn enough so he had to beg and
petty thefts.
Ø One night he saw a little grey cottage by the
roadside.
Ø He stayed with a crofter who served him well.
Ø The crofter told him that he had earned thirty kronor
in payment of his cow’s milk.
Ø The next morning, when both had gone for their work,
the peddler came back & stole the old man’s thirty kronor.
Ø Now he took a way through a forest instead of main
road, in order to escape being caught.
Ø But it was confusing forest so he found himself near
the place from where he had started.
Ø He thought that the whole world is also like a
rattrap (Chuhedani).
Ø Like rat we people are tempted by the baits as
riches, joys, shelters, food and clothes.
Ø It was dark & cold night of December; he heard
the sound of hammer and reached the Ramsjo Ironworks.
Ø The Ramsjo mistook the peddler as his old
acquaintance, Nils Olof.
Ø The ironmaster invited him to his house for the
Christmas Eve.
Ø But next day when he looked at the stranger in the
broad daylight, he at once realised his mistake, that man was not his old
friend.
Ø So he asked him at once to leave his house.
Ø But the ironmaster’s daughter named Edla pleaded on
the stranger.
Ø She served him for the Christmas Eve as best as she
could.
Ø Next morning both ironmaster and his daughter went to
the church when he was sleeping.
Ø There they heard that a man who sells rattrap, had
robbed the old crofter.
Ø Her father was afraid that the rattrap seller might
have stolen all their silver spoons.
Ø But he had not taken anything, rather he had left a
letter & the rattrap as Christmas present for Edla.
Ø In the package there were three ten-kronor notes. He
requested her to return money to the old crofter.
Ø Now he is reformed by the compassionate behavior of a
young girl Edla.
Very Short Type Q-Ans.
Q 1. Who is the writer of the story ‘The
Rattrap’?
Ans. Selma Lagerlof
Q. 2 Who is the main character in the story?
Ans. The man who made rattraps
Q. 3 What else did he do to living?
Ans. Begged and stole
Q. 4 What did the old man do for a living?
Ans. Selling his cow’s milk
Q. 5 Where did the old man’s money?
Ans. In a leather pouch
Q. 6 Who stole the old man’s money?
Ans. The rattrap seller
Q. 7 How did the rattrap seller enter the
cottage in order to steal the old man’s money?
Ans. By smashing a window pane
Q. 8 How much money did he steal?
Ans. Thirty kronors
Q.9 What happened when the rattrap seller left
the main road and went into a forest?
Ans. he became confused and lost the way
Q. 10 What did the owner of the factory mistake
the rattrap seller for?
Ans. His old friend Nils Olof
Q. 11 Where did the rattrap seller reach when he
followed the sound when he was in a forest?
Ans. The Ramsjo Ironworks
Q. 12 What was the name of the ironmaster’s
daughter?
Ans. Edla
Q. 13 What special occasion was the next day?
Ans. Christmas Eve
Q. 14 What idea stuck the rattrap seller’s mind
one day?
Ans. That the whole world is also like a rattrap
Q. 15 What had the rattrap seller left for the
ironmaster’s daughter as a Christmas gift?
Ans. The rattrap and a letter
Short Type Q-Ans.
Q. 1 From where did the peddler get the idea of
the world being a rattrap?
Ans. One day the peddler was going along the
road. He was thinking of his rattrap. He thought that the world is also like a
rattrap. A rat is caught in the rattrap when it is lured by the bait. In the
same way the world existed only to set baits for people. The world offers its riches,
joys, shelter, food and clothing to man just to trap him.
Q. 2 What made the peddler think he had indeed
fallen into a rattrap?
Ans. The peddler had stolen the thirty kronor of
the crofter. In order to avoid being caught, he did not walk along the main
road. He took a forest way. In the meantime, the night fell and there was
darkness over the forest. He forgot the way and he was confused where to go.
This money was bait that had trapped him. Now he thought that the world was
indeed a rattrap.
Q. 3 Why did the ironmaster speak kindly to the
peddler and invited him home?
Ans. The ironmaster saw the peddler in the dim
light of the furnace. He mistook the peddler for his an old friend. He thought
that his old friend was passing through bad days. Therefore, he invited him to
his house to help him in his evil days.
Q. 4 When did the ironmaster realise his
mistake?
Ans. The ironmaster had seen the peddler in the
dim light of the furnace. As a result, his face was not clearly visible. He
mistook the peddler for an old friend. But when he saw the peddler well groomed
in the broad daylight, he realised that he had made a mistake about him. He was
not his friend.
Q. 5 How did the peddler steal the old crofter
money?
Ans. The peddler knew where the crofter had kept
his thirty Kronor. As soon as they left the cottage, the peddler came back. He
smashed the windowpane and took out the money from the leather pouch and hung
the pouch back.
Q. 6 Why did the peddler take his way through
the forest?
Ans. The peddler had the crofter’s stolen money
in his pocket. He was afraid that he would be chased and caught If he went by
the highway. That is why he took his way through the forest.
Q. 7 What present did the peddler leave for
Edla? What did he write in his letter to him?
Ans. The servant told Edla that the peddler had
left a little package for her. She found a small rattrap in the package. Inside
the package there were three ten Kronor notes and a letter. In his letter he
thanked her for being so nice to him as if he was really a captain. He did not
want her to be troubled with a thief on Christmas. He requested her to return
the money to the old crofter. He wrote that the rattrap was a Christmas present
for her.
Essay Type Q-Ans.
Q. 1 How does the metaphor of the rattrap serve
to highlight the human predicament?
Ans. The peddler considers that the whole world
is nothing but a big rattrap. The riches, joys, shelter and food are nothing
but mere baits. When one touches the bait, the rattrap closes in on him. The
peddler robbed thirty kronor of the old crofter who served him food and
provided shelter at night. Those thirty kronor that he stole prove to be the
bait. He is lost in a big and confusing forest. He has befooled himself by the
bait. The metaphor of the rattrap comes alive when the ironmaster invited him
to his manor house but he refused to go there. Going there would mean going to
the lion’s den. Again the metaphor is used effectively when the peddler
describes human predicament to the ironmaster. Even the title of the story ‘The
Rattrap’ is highly metaphorical. The metaphor runs throughout the story.
Q. 2 Give a character-sketch of the peddler.
Ans. The writer of the story draws the character
of the peddler, with all sympathy and understanding. The rattrap seller is a
very poor man. He goes from place to place selling rattraps. The peddler
represents some human weaknesses. In fact, he is the product of circumstances.
The peddler is a vagabond. He is also a beggar as well as a petty thief. He
himself falls to temptation and steals thirty kronors of the old crofter.
The writer describes the peddler in such a way that arouses our sympathy with him. His clothes are dirty. He is very poor. He builds rattraps from the material received in begging. The peddler raises himself above petty temptation in the end. He thanks Miss Edla for her kindness and hospitality. He leaves thirty kronors to be given back to the old crofter. He also leaves a small rattrap as a Christmas present for Edla. Thus, the readers forgive him for his little human weakness.
*Important Spellings & Word-meanings*
*Spellings*
Literature
Interesting
Behaviour
Leather pouch
Peddler
Received
Hammer
Blacksmith
Ironsmith
Rattrap
Christmas
Dangerous
Extraordinary
*Word-meanings*
Amidst – in middle
Petty – small
Monotonous – boring
Vagabond – wanderer, trudging
Meditation – deep thinking
Pane – window glass
Smashed – broke
Staggered – walked in difficulty
Forge – furnace
Ragamuffin – wearing rags
Acquaintance – familiar
Preach – sermon
Arouse – woke up
Perspiration – sweat
Porridge – oat meal
Queer – strange